How knowledgeable are Indiana citizens about their local government? According to two researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC), citizens often fail to distinguish the various types of local governments which serve them.
Dr. Larita J. Killian and Dr. Kimdy Le report that although their research demonstrates empirical support for a report issued by the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform in late 2007, they find the commission did not extend their work far enough, especially as it relates to special districts.
The 2007 Indiana commission report, authored by former Indiana Governor Joe Kernan and Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard, found 1,008 township governments in 92 counties and more than 3,000 independent local governments (including 2,700 authorized to levy taxes). The report suggested reforms in local governments.
For example, the commission recommended that counties have a single, elected chief executive, and that township responsibilities be transferred to the county. Three recommendations addressed library districts but no other special districts were specifically mentioned. The IUPUC researchers argued that any reform of local government to increase accountability and transparency would be incomplete without addressing Indiana’s array of special districts.
The U.S. Census Bureau defines special district governments in the U.S. as independent units existing separately from general purpose local (i.e., county, municipal, or township) governments. They do not include school districts. The bureau reported more than 37,000 special district governments across the U.S. in 2007.
In Indiana, special districts are one of the fastest-growing types of local government, explains Killian, an assistant professor in the Division of Business at IUPUC. “They typically comprise categories like housing, transportation, utilities, soil and water conservation, solid waste management, and similar services.”
According to the Indiana State Board of Accounts (SBOA), Indiana’s special districts include more than 90 soil and water districts, nearly 80 conservancy districts, 68 solid waste management districts, 66 regional districts, 54 fire protection districts, and others of various types.
The changes recommended by the commission in 2007, however, largely bypass Indiana’s special district governments, which total 1,272.
“Since there are more special districts than the state’s 1,008 township governments, we suggest any attempt at streamlining local government should include them. In fact, such efforts would do well to not only focus on how citizens perceive local government but how aware they are of the general and special governments that serve them,” Killian added.
Killian and Le, an assistant professor in the Division of Science at IUPUC, tested citizen familiarity with the local governments, measuring familiarity with the goals and objectives of a given local government and familiarity with how the government obtains and uses financial resources.